


In the Quiet Morning

by queenhomeslice



Series: Prince of Lucis, King of My Heart [4]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Chubby Reader, Curvy Reader, F/M, Fishing, Fluff, Getting Together, Noct has two brain cells and they’re both out fishing, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Pining, fat reader, plus size reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-03-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:27:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23340952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenhomeslice/pseuds/queenhomeslice
Summary: You accompany Noct on an early-morning fishing trip.
Relationships: Noctis Lucis Caelum/Reader
Series: Prince of Lucis, King of My Heart [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1656907
Comments: 18
Kudos: 86





	In the Quiet Morning

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Square Enix or any production studios behind the Final   
> Fantasy franchise or Final Fantasy XV; I am not making money from this work and I do not own   
> the rights to FF in any way.
> 
> ———
> 
> Hi, Animal Crossing: New Horizons has taken over my life, and I’ve done a shit-ton of fishing. So uh. This was inspired by that.

Noctis has this thing where he won’t wake up at five in the morning, but he’ll  stay _awake_ till five in the morning, especially when he wants to go fishing. It’s endearing and annoying at the same time, because trying to get the prince to operate on a decent time schedule has been Ignis’ life work, and he’s only barely succeeded. 

The soft chime of your phone brings you out of your long, weird dream, and you fumble blindly in the dark until you’re squinting at the dim backlit picture of Noct’s face. You press the green button to accept the call and pinch the bridge of your nose. 

“Noct, it’s five thirty.”

“I know.” He sounds  chipper,  like he’s raring to go. “Do you wanna come fishing with me?”

“What?”

“The lake just outside of the Wall. C’mon, it’s peak season for trout.”

“Gods, you’re such a nerd.”

“Is that a yes?”

“Why do I let you tear me away from everything good and wholesome in my life? AKA, my bed?” 

Noctis snorts. “Cause you love me.”

Your gut twists a little at his words. If only he knew how true that really was. You sigh. “Okay give me like, fifteen minutes? I’m gonna look like shit.”

“You never do,” says Noctis quietly. “I’m taking the Regalia, be ready.”

You feel your face heat up at his offhanded comment. “Uh, yeah. Okay. See you soon.” 

You’re huddled under a blanket in the small boat that Noctis already had waiting at the marina by the lake. The prince is seated sideways, fishing off the port side. There’s a small ice chest full of bottled water and sandwiches—no doubt Iggy’s handiwork—and a larger ice chest full of ice for Noct’s haul. It’s slow going—two hours and he’s only kept six fish he deemed worthy enough to eat—but you’re being lulled into a light doze by the gentle rock of the boat. Plus, alone time with Noct is always welcome, even if it is simultaneously torture. 

“Don’t fall asleep on me,” Noct murmurs. 

You know the drill. Quiet whispers, or else the local wildlife would be startled, in turn scaring the fish. You never understood the mechanics of it all, but you complied nonetheless. You always give Noctis anything he asks.

“Sorry,” you whisper. “It’s pretty peaceful out here, not gonna lie.”

“Yeah,” he replies. “Thanks for coming out—oh!” Noct’s line pulls, and soon enough the prince is hauling a large bass into the boat. He stands up triumphantly, his smile splitting his gorgeous face in two. 

You gaze up at him, and the rising sun behind his hair renders him even more ethereal than usual. His smile lifts your tired mood instantly as you fumble for your phone and snap a full-length picture. 

Noct wrestles the flipping fish into the ice chest and shuts it, fussing in his tackle box again for a new lure. 

“That dinner?” You chuckle quietly as you settle again into your cocoon. 

“Hell yeah,” says Noctis, even more hyped than before. “Specs’ll love that one.” 

“Can’t wait,” you yawn as you shoot the picture to the rest of the guys in the group chat. You’re greeted with an error message and you sigh. Reception is always spotty at the lake. 

“Hey,” says Noctis after a time. 

“Hm?” You’ve taken for sitting on the floor of the boat, propped up against the smaller ice chest. 

“You’ve been acting weird lately.”

“Weird how?” You let your head fall to the side so you can look at the prince’s profile and pine away quietly. 

“Like...I dunno.” Noctis reels in his line, checks the lure, and recasts slightly to the left. “Just weird. Somethin’ on your mind?”

_Yeah, you, like twenty-four fucking seven_.  And you almost say it. Almost. You shrug instead. “Not really. Sorry to worry you. I’m okay.”

“I’m not a fish,” says Noct quietly. “You don’t have to dangle a fancy lie in front of me.”

Perceptive as ever—well, no one can say that the prince doesn’t know the art of reading people. He is royalty, after all, and smarter than a lot of people give him credit for. You sigh, thinking long and hard about how to phrase it. “Have you ever—liked someone, as more than a friend—and you know that never in a million years it would work out between the two of you?”

“What, like a crush?” says Noct, finally turning his eyes from the water down to you in the bottom of the boat. 

You shrug and hope that your blush isn’t too obvious. “Yeah. I mean I guess that’s what’s bugging me. But I can like, ignore it. If it’s dampening the group dynamic.”

“It’s not,” says Noct. “We’re all worried about you. You’re just not yourself lately. Did someone reject you? Whose ass I gotta beat?” He smirks. 

You snort. You’re incredibly lucky to know Noctis and his retainers—beyond blessed to call the four men your closest friends. To hope for anything more,  especially  between you and Noctis, was a pipe dream. You’re guilty for even daydreaming about kissing those perfect lips. “Not rejection,” you say finally, closing your eyes. “They...don’t even know I like them like that. But it’s probably best it stays that way.”

“But why? You’re amazing. You should tell them how you feel.”

“It wouldn’t work, Noct. We’re...from two completely different worlds. I don’t fit in, and...they probably wouldn’t choose me, anyway. If they had a choice. Which I’m pretty sure they don’t.” Of course Noctis doesn’t have a choice. His whole life is planned down to the hour—excursions like these have become rarer since Noctis turned twenty. 

“But you never know unless you try, right?” The line jerks, and Noct reels in his catch—a pretty sizable trout. He assesses it and deems it worthy, laying it on ice with his other trophies before he checks the lure and recasts. “Hey,” he continues. “Why don’t you practice with me?” 

“What?” You open your eyes and glance up at his sharp profile once more. Gods, he really isn’t fair for him to be this hot  _and_ this nice. 

“Yeah, cmon. It’s just me right? Pretend I’m the person you like. Say what you wanna say.”

You suck in a sharp breath and kiss your friendship with Noctis Lucis Caelum goodbye. “Noct,” you say, voice shaky amidst your pounding heart. “I’ve been in love with you since I’ve known you. Being your friend has been one of the best things to ever happen to me, and I know I’m not worthy of your station, but I can’t keep my true feelings from you anymore. I want to be in a relationship with you.”

The silence is deafening in the seconds following, but soon enough you hear a breathless exhale from the man above you. “That...was amazing,” Noctis says. “Yeah, I mean, say it just like that. If they don’t get the hint, then they’re too dumb for you anyway.”

You want to laugh so badly, but you’re afraid of scaring the fish. Exasperated, and with one foot already in the grave: “Noctis,” you say. 

“___________?” Noctis reels in his line and recasts it. 

“I  did just say it.”

“Say...say what?”

“What I wanted to say. To...to the person I like.”

Noctis slowly looks down to you, dark blue eyes wide. “But you were...you were just practicing?”

You shake your head. “Hard to practice when the person I like is telling me to say what I really feel.”

You feel your face grow hot under Noct’s confused stare, and you look away as his face softens in realization. 

“Oh shit,” he says. 

“Yeah.”

“You like  _me_. ”

“Yep.”

“And wait, you weren’t—you weren’t gonna tell me?  Ever? ”

You sign and sniff back the tears that have started to emerge. “What good what it have done, Noct? You’re  you . And I’m...”

“Beautiful,” finishes Noctis. “You’re beautiful. Why wouldn’t I want to be with you?”

“Don’t—dont tease me.”

“Why would I do that?” 

You hear Noct reel in his line again, but this time, the  _whoosh-plop_ of it going back into the lake doesn’t echo in the quiet morning. 

“Look at me,” Noctis all but orders, and you comply, lifting your tear-stained gaze to him. “I can’t believe you never told me this.”

“I didn’t want to...to ruin our friendship.” You sniff as quietly as you can, pressing your fingers to your eyes in a futile effort to stop crying. “Why would I ever think that a prince could fall in love with someone like me?”

“Well, whatever you’ve been telling yourself is obviously not true,” Noctis says as he cups your wet cheek in his rough hands. 

The touch of his fingers on your skin lights your nerves on fire, and you shudder involuntarily, instinctively leaning into his palm. “I like you a lot. Like, really. A lot.”

You let your hand fall from your face as you stare into Noct’s eyes. The prince has never lied to you before, and surely he’d be kind enough to let you down gently if he actually didn’t return your affections...right? 

Before you can fully process it all, Noct’s soft lips are pressing against yours, stealing what’s left of your sanity. It’s brief,  _too_ brief—but it leaves your mind reeling, and it’s full of promises for the future. 

“Productive day,” says Noct as he moves to sit in front of the motor. He revs it up and it kicks on after a few sputters, and the prince steers the little boat back to the far side of the lake, towards the marina. 

“Productive day,” he says again. “Came here with nothin’, and I’m leaving with an ice chest full of fish and a whole ass girlfriend.” 

You laugh the entire way back to shore. 


End file.
